Spring skirt hanger



Dec. 24, 1968 o. TAYLOR SPRING SKIRT HANGER Filed on. 26, 1966 INVENTOR. DAVID L. TAYLOR BY A, Mug

United States Patent 3,417,906 SPRING SKIRT HANGER David L. Taylor, 1184 Arroyo Drive, Pebble Beach, Calif. 93953 Filed Oct. 26, 1966, Ser. No. 589,671 2 Claims. (Cl. 223-95) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A spring skirt hanger providing greater tension and holding power at the arm tips, where the tension is required, by means of springing the arm members from a solid block which encases the beginning of the arm mem- 'bers and the lower portion of the hook shank. If more tension and less spring are required then the juncture between the neck members and the arms may also be made rigid and encased in a solid block.

The invention relates to a spring skirt hanger for use primarily in the cleaning and dyeing trade, but also useful in the ordinary household. It provides for the first time a hanger which is specifically directed to the proper hanging of womens skirts.

Prior to the present invention there has been no satisfactory hanger designed and constructed specifically for womens skirts. Accordingly, it is a prime object of the present invention to provide such a hanger and to endow it with a structure which is easy to operate, using the simplest normal movements.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a skirt hanger of spring wire which is operable by squeezing the central neck portion for insertion into the top opening of the skirt and which engages the inner face of the skirt waistband merely by release of the squeezing of the neck portion.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a skirt hanger which has sufficient spring tension to hold a skirt by the interior waistband so that the weight of the skirt will not pull or release the skirt from the hanger.

A further object of the present invention is to simplify the handling of skirts in cleaning and dyeing establishments, and to speed the handling of the finished product without the use of pins, hooks, snaps or other additional means of hanging.

Another object is that it has been determined by time studies that one of the most expensive operations in a cleaning and dyeing establishment is to get a finished skirt onto a hanger ready for delivery to the customer. It is therefore an object of the present invention to produce a skirt hanger which will cut down the time required to properly hang a skirt when finished and to improve the quality of the product as it is delivered to the customer.

In many instances a plain coat hanger is used for hanging a skirt. It is a well-recognized fact that the plain coat hanger is not suitable for hanging a skirt and that skirts will slide and gather in the handling despite anything that anyone can do. Accordingly, it is another object of the invention to provide a hanger which will prevent sliding or gathering.

Further objects are to provide a construction of maximum simplicity, economy and ease of assembly and disassembly, also such further objects, advantages and capabilities as will fully appear and as are inherently possessed by the device and invention described herein.

The invention further resides in the combination, construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and while there is shown therein a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that the same is illustrative of the invention and that the Patented Dec. 24, 1968 invention is capable of modification and change and comprehends other details of construction without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of the spring wire skirt hanger of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a transverse vertical section thereof taken on the line II-II of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view of an alternate form of a spring wire skirt hanger; and

FIGURE 4 is a transverse vertical section of the alternate form taken on the line IV-IV of FIGURE 3.

Referring now more particularly to the single sheet of drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like parts in the several views, the simplest form of spring skirt hanger is shown in FIGURES l and 2. It is made preferably, from a single length of spring wire 10 with equal and opposite sides. At the central portion the wire is doubled back upon itself to form the hook portion 11 and then twisted to form the stem 12. It is then bent outwardly and laterally for a short distance to form the short shoulders 14. The bending is then at substantially downwardly forming the parallel neck members 15. From thence the bending is outwardly at an angle 16 which is more than 90, to form the lateral arm members 17. The arm members terminate with downwardly directed short portions 18, which are fitted with rubber contacting tips 20. Any suitable material may be used for the contacting tips 20 and they may even be provided with a broken or serrated surface to aid in the gripping of a garment or skirt.

With particular reference to FIGURE 1, the 90 angle 21, all of the members 14 and the lower portion of the stem 12 and the upper portion of the neck members 15 are rigidly encased in a relatively inert plastic 22. In FIGURE 3 the bends 23 forming the obtuse angles 16 are each individually imbedded in plastic 24.

It will be observed that by means of the plastic member 22, the spring steel 10, when the neck is squeezed by the thumb and fingers, will flex inwardly at 25. When the squeezing is released then they assume their normal position. In FIGURE 1 the squeeze position is shown in the broken lines and in this form the flexing occurs not only at the point 25 but at the bend 23. On the other hand, in FIGURE 3 when the same squeezing of the neck is concerned and the bending is at the point 25, the bends 23 are held rigid and are therefore incapable of bending the arms 17 to any substantial degree and are therefore more rigid, with the squeezed position shown in broken lines on the figure.

As has been indicated earlier, there is no satisfactory skirt hanger for daily commercial use by cleaners and dyers. When a skirt comes from the last stage of the process it is important to preserve the pristine fresh look free of Wrinkles and folds. The skirt arrives at the station of the finisher in fiat form with the skirt band foremost. The finisher merely takes either the hanger of FIGURE 1 of the hanger of FIGURE 3 and with the right hand squeezes it at the neck and then inserts the squeezed hanger so that the arms 17 and tips 20 will pass to the interior. When the pressure or squeeze is released on the neck members 15, the tips 20 engage the skirt waistband on the inside, with the spring pressure of the wire itself and the skirt may then be hung up ready for delivery to the customer without further handling, folding or possibility of wrinkles by a change in position.

Time studies have indicated that the use of the skirt hangers of the present invention have saved an enormous amount of time because the operation is simple and complete and has produced a better product since folding,

punching and other handling has been completely eliminated.

By using the additional plastic portions 24 in the alternate form shown in FIGURE 3, the flexing when the neck is squeezed occurs only at the points 25 which is sufiicient to permit insertion in the top opening of the skirt. However, it is to be observed that the pressure exerted by the tips 20 on the inner skirt waistband is greater than would be accomplished by the tips 20 in the form shown in FIGURE 1.

The advantages and objectives of this invention are accordingly achieved and in the structures shown and described above as well as others which will become apparent in the continued use of this skirt hanger.

I claim:

1. A skirt hanger having a central hook and shank, equal and opposite narrow shoulder portions connected to and extending laterally from said shank, spaced neck members extending downwardly from said shoulders at right angles, lateral arms extending downwardly and outwardly from said neck members, downwardly and outwardly angled terminating tips at the ends of said arms,

a solid encasement for the juncture of said neck members with the lateral arms and for said shoulders, the lower portion of the shank, the upper portion of siad neck members with the remaining portions of said hanger being free of said encasement, said parts all being coplanar and said hook, shank, shoulders, neck members, and arms being an integral one piece spring wire.

2. The skirt hanger of claim 1 wherein the hook and shank portions being unified doubled back portions with no free ends.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,492,574 5/1924 Montgomery 22392 2,562,566 7/1951 Meyerhoff 22392 2,584,199 2/1952 Grossman 22388 2,620,954 12/1952 Lundman 22395 2,753,093 7/1956 Pick 223-95 2,940,649 6/ 1960 Zeuthen 22395 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner. G. H. KRIZMANICK, Assistant Examiner. 

